Formnext 2018 3D printing premieres to see in Frankfurt next month

Taking place from 3 to 16 November 2018, 550 exhibitors from across the additive manufacturing ecosystem will present the latest technology at the Frankfurt exhibition grounds. In 2017, more than 21,000 visitors attended the third edition of the trade show.

For 2018, exhibition hall 3 is fully booked and it is anticipated that visitor numbers will set a new record. The fourth edition of formnext will include the AM Standards Forum, a transatlantic summit organized by Formnext in conjunction with the U.S. Commercial Service, along with German and American partners.

In the coming weeks 3D Printing Industry will be taking a look at what to expect from this year’s show. And, much like Christmas, it seems the announcements commence earlier every year.

Arburg Freeformer 300-3X

German machine manufacturer Arburg will be showing a new AM system. The Freeformer 300-3X is an industrial 3D printing system that will be unveiled to the public during Formnext 2018.

“For many years, users have appreciated the benefits of our Freeformer 200-3X and the possibilities that the system and Arburg Plastic Freeforming have to offer,” said Lukas Pawelczyk, of Arburg. “As a revolutionary next step, we’re celebrating the world premiere of the Freeformer 300-3X at the Formnext 2018, which will expand the Arburg product range and open up new fields of application. For the first time worldwide, complex and resilient functional parts can be produced from three components in hard/soft combination with support structure using this machine for industrial additive manufacturing – that’s unique in the industry.”

Arburg will be in hall 3.1, Booth E70.

The Arburg freeformer 300-3X.

LEO Lane SaaS for IP protection

Tel Aviv’s LEO Lane will be in Frankfurt to demonstrate, “how corporations can uphold brand integrity and IP protection by securely managing additive manufacturing, each and every time parts are produced.” The IP management system is providing as a SaaS solution which can create digital assets or a LEO – Limited Edition Object – file.

“The benefits of additive manufacturing are widespread and well-recognized, but they come with perils,” says Moshe Molcho, LEO Lane’s Co-Founder and CEO. “We are meeting these issues head-on with a solution that ensures lock-tight protection for brands using additive manufacturing in virtual inventories, on-demand production, or other production capacities.”

Fraunhofer ILT, and other enterprises from the group, will be at booth E70 in hall 3.0.

The future of Formnext

Formnext is already looking to 2019, with bigger things planned. Sascha F. Wenzler, Vice President for Formnext at Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH, said, “The fact that we’ve been able to occupy all the exhibition space so well even after expanding again underlines the highly dynamic and sustainable growth of Formnext, which is impressive confirmation of the exhibition concept that we have developed together with the industry.”

In 2019 Formnext will move recently constructed exhibition Hall 12 of the Frankfurt exhibition grounds. When combined with Hall 11, this will provides exhibition space of around 58,000 square meters, an significant increase on the 36,000 sold for 2018.